"All therefore whatsoever
they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their
works: for they say, and do not." (Matthew 23:1-3)

<1>After he established the supremacy of his
teachings and actions over those of the Pharisees, scribes, and
Sadducees, and silenced them, now he started his direct attack and
his last part of the mission to show their hypocrisy. He did not
speak in parables any longer but in plain language. <2>This
would do the last hurting to the
false egos of the priests, elders, and spiritual teachers of the
people, and would make them more zealous to plot against him.
Although he said the truth, they did not want to hear it.

<3>He was trying to show that it is not the
teachings of Moses which are bad or should not be followed, but it
is the actions of their leaders which had corrupted Moses' teachings
and laws. <4>That is why what they said, which is what Moses
taught, "sit in Moses' seat," is good for a person and his
spirit. But they
themselves did not follow what Moses taught, "for they say, and do
not."

<5>Again this shows that
Christ did not come to
do away with
God's Commandments and
Laws. But as described before in the main part of these
commentaries, his mission was something else and he fulfilled it.
One was to end the lawgiving by the
House of Judah.

"For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne,
and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will
not move them with one of their fingers." (Matthew 23:4)

<6>By using Moses' teachings and by creating
a class distinction for themselves, they misused their position and
became a burden on people.
<7>In truth they should have been a blessing but because of
their lower natures they did not have true spiritual understanding
and Grace. So they used
their power to satisfy the propensities of their lower selves
(survival needs, dominating need, longing for false prestige, etc.).

"But all their works they do
for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and
enlarge the borders of their garments," (Matthew 23:5)

<8>They do all things in the faith for show,
to catch the eyes of men, and to establish distinction for
themselves.

"And love the uppermost rooms
at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,"

"And greetings in the
markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi." (Matthew 23:6-7)

<9>These all are done to be glorified by men.
Indeed they receive their reward from men but not from
God.

"But be not ye called Rabbi:
for one is your Master, even Christ; and
all ye are brethren." (Matthew 23:8)

"And call no man your father
upon the earth: for one is your Father,
which is in heaven."
(Matthew 23:9)

<11>The earthly parents are only tools, but
the actual creator of our bodies is the
Father in
heaven (God).
So He is the Father of
all. <12>However this does not mean we should disregard our
earthly parents. On the contrary, they are the most respectful and
honorable beings after
God
and our spiritual teachers.

"Neither be ye called
masters: for one is your Master, even Christ."
(Matthew 23:10)

"And whosoever shall exalt
himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be
exalted." (Matthew 23:11-12)

<14>That is the Law in
heaven. Those who think
they are great and falsely exalt themselves will be humbled. But
those who know the power of
God and know He is the true
doer through them and even their greatness is from Him, will humble
themselves and be exalted by Him. They exalt the
Father, so they will be exalted.

"But woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the Kingdom Of Heaven against men: for ye neither go in
yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
(Matthew 23:13)

<15>The Pharisees and scribes will not enter
into the Kingdom Of Heaven
(Pure
Consciousness) because they love the world more than
heaven. Also they do not let those who are ready, "them that are
entering" to go in by keeping the mass in
ignorance and binding them with superstitions and false
doctrines. <16>In fact
Esa here is describing what
are called the
intellectual spiritualists, those who try to explain the
Scriptures without intuitional feeling and contact with the
Universal Mind.
Then intentionally (because of their lack of faith) or
unintentionally (because of their lack of depth), they create
doctrines or interpret the Scriptures in a way that binds man more
than frees him.

<17>The goal of creation is to free man from
bondage, and the reason for
Prophets and the words
God revealed through them
was (and is) to show man the path to this freedom. But we can see
that because of these
intellectual spiritualists
(scribes and Pharisees) the religions have become a source of
suffering and bondage to man. That is why neither those
intellectual spiritualists enter into
heaven themselves nor suffer those who want to know the truth
and enter it to do so.

<18>But woe to these ignorant and
false teachers
who intentionally use religions and beliefs to gain mundane material
things or to satisfy their lower natures.

Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one
proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child
of hell
than yourselves." (Matthew 23:15)

<19>They convert people to a belief which had
lost the original truth. So they make the person "twofold more the
child of
hell."

"Woe unto you, ye blind
guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by
the gold of the
temple, he is a debtor!"

"Ye fools and blind: for
whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that
sanctifieth the gold?"

"And, Whosoever shall swear
by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that
is upon it, he is guilty."

"Ye fools and blind: for
whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the
gift?" (Matthew 23:16-19)

<20>When the
mind
becomes materialistic and gross (crude), it no longer has the
keenness to see these simple truths.

"Whoso therefore shall swear
by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon."

"And whoso shall swear by the
temple,
sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein." (Matthew 23:20-21)

<21>After sanctifying the gift, the
temple sanctifies the
altar, and all of them are sanctified because of
God who dwells in everything. <22>That is why there is a
Divine side in
everything when looked at through its
Darma, "by him that dwelleth therein."